There’s an enormous ghost galaxy hiding at the edge of the Milky Way
The Gaia satellite has spotted a ghost galaxy with a lower surface brightness than any stellar system we’ve ever seen – but the discovery is being questioned
Microbots made from mushroom spores could clean polluted water
Water contaminated with heavy metals, such as lead, could be cleaned up by thousands of microbots built from mushroom spores
A computer game’s edible controller lets you play it with your gut
Players of a video game must kill a virtual parasite by changing the temperature of their gut, which is measured by an ingestible sensor
Walking backwards can boost your short-term memory
Moving backwards - or simply imagining doing it - can be enough to improve scores on memory tests, but we don't know why
Catching up on sleep at weekends may aggravate period pain
Getting up early on weekdays and sleeping in on weekends to compensate may cause period pain by disrupting the circadian rhythms that control hormone cycles
Exclusive: A new test can predict IVF embryos’ risk of having a low IQ
A new genetic test that enables people having IVF to screen out embryos likely to have a low IQ or high disease risk could soon become available in the US
Web tracker can follow you for months even if you delete your cookies
This internet tracker can follow your browsing for months even if you use ad blockers, by measuring variations in the quartz crystals in your device's clock
Environmentalists must embrace nuclear power to stem climate change
The Union of Concerned Scientists has overturned its longstanding opposition to nuclear power. Other green groups should follow suit, says Mark Lynas
Prefer tea or coffee? It may be down to your genes for bitter tastes
People with genes that make them taste caffeine more strongly tend to be coffee-drinkers, while tea-drinkers have genetic aversions to strongly bitter tastes
A new DNA sequencing service wants to reward you for sharing your data
Genetics pioneer George Church's new company says it will sequence your genome for free and secure it on a blockchain, so that you can choose who uses your data